


Hero

by DangerRollins



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Carl is mentioned, Father-Daughter Relationship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-24
Updated: 2018-05-24
Packaged: 2019-05-13 08:33:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14745464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DangerRollins/pseuds/DangerRollins
Summary: Judith wishes she was more like her brother.





	Hero

Rick sighed heavily as he rubbed the palm of his hand with his thumb, his eyes following Judith's every move as she walked back and forth in front of the small shelf, eyes scanning for what was most useful so she could put it into her backpack. She grabbed a few canned goods and jarred foods, dropping down to her knees to put them in her bag.

She let out a small cough, adjusting the hat on her head so that it wasn't hanging over her eyes anymore, and then wiped her forehead to rid it of the buildup of sweat that had formed quickly. The small store they were in wasn't much cooler than outside, much to her disappointment. She hated summer.

"We need to talk about what you did." Rick started, looking at the ceiling as he tried to ignore the pain in his left leg. Judith glanced at him and stood up quickly, walking toward him with a small frown on her face. "You need to take care of your leg," She grumbled. "We're not leaving until you've got it cleaned and wrapped properly."

She sat the homemade first aid kit that she'd brought along on his lap and gave him a stern look before waltzing back over to the shelves she'd just been sorting through. "Might find some medicine in the next store we go in. If I remember correctly, there's one about...twenty minutes away from here. It was down the road where the dead tree was—The one that was more grey than brown? Let me drive, I can get us there."

"You're just fourteen," Rick shook his head. "I'm not letting you drive. We need to talk about what you did."

"I saved your life," She sighed heavily. "You're welcome."

"You killed a man."

"He was trying to kill you."

"We could've talked to him."

"He didn't wanna talk. He wanted to shoot you. So, I wanted to shoot him. And I did. I don't see the issue."

Rick sighed heavily as he pushed the first aid kit off of him and onto the floor. Judith was just as stubborn as he was, and even worse, she was just as stubborn as Carl was. Trying to talk to her about anything when she already had her mind set was basically pointless, but he had to try. It was his job as her father.

"You can't do things like that, Judith. We've talked about this. I agreed to let you come out here to scavenge, not to engage in confrontation and—You just...You're just a kid, and you shouldn't—"

"Dad, I get it. We **have** talked about this, probably five billion times now. I get that I'm supposed to be nice and good and I'm not supposed to kill people and all that bull crap, and hey, that's cool and all, but if your life is in danger I'm not gonna fuck around and wait for somebody else to pull the trigger. You're my dad and your life means more to me than some stranger's. I never would've killed him if he hadn't tried to kill you," She narrowed her eyes as she lifted the first aid kit up again, opening it. "Clean. Up. Your. Wound."

"Watch your mouth," He muttered tiredly. "You've killed three people, Judith, and I understand that it was necessary but that doesn't...That doesn't make it okay. At this rate, by the time you're twenty, your body count will be higher than mine."

Judith huffed as she zipped her bag up and put the straps over her shoulders before walking to Rick again. She fumbled around in the first aid kit, muttering to herself about him not doing the one thing she'd asked him to do, and he couldn't help but crack a smile while he watched her fuss.

"I think after today you need to stay inside the walls. Before you start arguing, it isn't because you're not capable. You've proven that you are. I know you can handle yourself, and me for that matter, but still. It's too dangerous out here, your trigger finger's too heavy and I want you to stay safe inside the walls where you belong."

Rick winced as Judith slammed the cotton ball with alcohol on it onto his wound. She glared at him, her jaw clenching as she muttered a quick and insincere 'Sorry' before gently dabbing it around the wound. "It's not fair," She mumbled. "I'm good at this, dad, you said it yourself. You said I had a knack for finding things that nobody else can find! Remember last time when you thought that tiny little store we found would be a bust and it ended up having a crap ton of supplies? Remember when I managed to find farming supplies? Remember—"

"It was two weeks ago, Judy. Yes, I remember."

"I'm good at this." She repeated.

"You're good at other things too! Like farming, looking after the other kids, teaching them how to read and write and—"

"That's boring," she whined. "I shouldn't be stuck at home teaching a bunch of five-year-olds how to write their names! I shouldn't be stuck playing house either. I should be providing for the community, I should be being useful!"

"When I agreed to take you outside the walls for a while, I told you that this wasn't gonna be anything permanent. I only wanted you to get the hang of it in case for some reason you ever **needed** to come out here."

"I figured you'd see how good I was at it and let me keep coming out," She sighed. "I'm better at this than I am at staying at home and being a lazy lug. Why can't you just let me keep coming? Once a week."

"No."

"Once a month."

"No."

"Once every two months."

"No, Judith." Rick rolled his eyes before wincing again as she poked his wound on 'accident'. She wiped the blood off on his shirt and muttered another 'Sorry'. "When you're older, I'll let you come out here more."

"You've been saying that for years," She mumbled. "Can I ask you something?"

"Go for it."

"How old was Carl when he started doing stuff like this?"

Rick cleared his throat and shrugged his shoulders. "He didn't...He never got to, really," He sighed. "He didn't go on many runs without me if any at all. I didn't want him outside of the walls either, but..."

"He snuck out?"

"A few times. And don't get any ideas." He narrowed his eyes at her. She rolled her eyes and furrowed her brows as she began to slowly wrap up his wound.

"Everybody talks about Carl like he was a huge hero, and I believe that he was. I mean, I've heard the story of him saving the Alexandrians from Negan about a thousand times, and Negan always tells me about how he gunned down his men when you were too scared to do anything about him—" Rick huffed at this, making a mental note to scold Negan when he got back. "He did a lot, and he saved a lot of people."

"Yeah, he did," Rick mumbled softly.

"I wanna do the same. When he was younger, he did so much. He was mature, he was a fighter, and he did what he had to do. Me? What have I done, dad? I taught a few kids how to spell and grew a plant or two, but who's gonna remember that? I wanna be important too—"

"You are important, Judith." Rick cut in quickly, placing his hand over hers. "Carl did do a lot and to this day I'm proud of him and the man he became. The thing is, though, he became a man too soon. He was still a kid when he died, and he was still a kid when he learned to protect and provide for himself and others. He did that stuff because he had to, not because he wanted to and damn for sure not because I wanted him to. I wanted him to stay in the house, away from any and all danger. I wanted him to have a cozy life where his only concern was what video game to play next and what was gonna be for dinner. I wanted things to be normal for him. Back then...Things weren't as good as they are now. It was rough and we weren't as protected as we are now. We made so many mistakes...We had so many enemies...But, Judith, Carl died fighting for a better world. You know that. He wanted **this** to be the way that things were. He wanted a world where we could all live together in peace. He wanted us to stop killing. He wanted you to have somewhere safe to live. Somewhere where all you had to worry about was—"

"What video game to play next and what to have for dinner," Judith nearly whispered. Her eyes had filled with tears as she rested beside Rick, his wound now fully wrapped up. "I miss him and I didn't even know him." She sighed.

"I know."

They were quiet for a few moments as they tried to regain their composure, but Judith sighed after a minute and stood up straight again. "Well, if this is my last run I guess we'll have to make it a good one." She rolled her eyes, still bitter. "Let's go pick up that medicine. You're gonna need to let that leg rest, so I'll have to drive—"

"It's not happening, Judith."


End file.
